Security automation
Security automation definition
Security automation is a process that involves integrating different elements of an organization’s security in order to automate its tasks related to security. It involves integrating things like security applications, processes, and infrastructure.
Many organizations use security automation to help their IT and security teams. Namely, security automation can help IT and security teams with protecting organizations at scale. It can also free up a large portion of their time, allowing them to focus on other high-priority tasks.
Security automation can decrease errors and improve efficiency. Security automation performs tasks like threat detection, choosing the right action to contain or mitigate risks, quantifying cyber risk, responding to security-related incidents, and unifying asset inventory.
However, security automation is not a standalone solution but rather a part of a broader security strategy. It should be implemented alongside other security measures and best practices to create a comprehensive and effective security posture.
See also: hyperautomation, vulnerability
Security automation benefits
- Fast threat detection.
- Ability to contain and mitigate threats without help from humans.
- Increased productivity and efficiency of IT and security teams.
- Can decrease data breaches.
- Can improve mean-time-to-patch (MTTP) and mean-time-to-respond (MTTR).
Security automation tools
Robotic process automation (RPA). RPA tools can automate low-level processes like vulnerability scans, running monitoring tools, and basic threat mitigation. However, they can’t automate more complex tasks, can’t be integrated with security tools, and can’t apply complex analysis or guides.
Security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR). SOAR systems allow organizations and individuals to gather data about security threats and can respond to incidents without human help. They include tools that can define, standardize, prioritize, and automate incident response functions.
Extended detection and response (XDR). XDR tools consolidate data from an organization’s entire security environment, allowing organizations to recognize attacks hidden between silos and security layers.